Miss Garnet's Angel

Sally Vickers

This one I liked very much, for several reasons. It has very vivid discriptions of Venice, I've been there and did NOT like the place but after reading this book I just felt a bit guilty that I didn't. Not that it is a complete lyrical advertisment for Venice but the way Vickars puts her characters in this city and let them "feel" it through and through just made me want to feel the same way about this place. I probably still won't like it but hey the book made me like it for a while!

The other reason is the sweet story, the oh so human miss Garnet and the woven in paralel with the Tobias Apocryphal book. This sounds heavy which it isn't since she manages to weave in this religious part so naturally and so "funny" written, that all the characters are apealing.

Miss Garnet an old virgin schoolteacher loses her best friend quite suddenly and decides to take of to Venice to stay there for half a year. The way the impressions and adjustment to the Italian life for this old maid are described are loving and realistic. She even manages to fall in love for the first time in her life, unfortunately this love for Carlo a distinguished Italian gentleman is not answered in the way she would have liked it to have been.

Throughout the book Miss Garnet gets more gutts and really comes across as a lovable, curious character, she became my friend.

She becomes the friend of an english twin restaurating an old chapel, the twins are also a very important aspect of the parallel as is proven further in the book.

And there is the story of Tobias and Raphael. This story takes place far BC after the jewish tribes have fallen apart and some of them are under Egyptian surpression. Tobias on one day suddenly goes blind and needs his son to visit a familymember who ows his father money. The way the old Tobias and his relation to his son and wife is described is in some parts just hylarious! Tobias jr needs to find a companion to lead him the way to the other part of the country, it's hard to find one but then he comes across a man and his dog who "feel" good. He takes of with this guy and his dog and soon enough he finds out that the man (who is the archangel Raphael) has some different plans for him, he wants Tobias jr to meet his future wife who is his niece. Well this story alone is one on his own but again the paralel to Miss Garnet and her 6 months in Venice meeting all her friends is beautifully tangled together.

I'm not going to tell anymore otherwise I'll start writing down half the book. This is a must read, at least in my opinion. Well written, smart, funny, sad and it clings on in your mind.